Recommended by Rachael Carnes

  • Rachael Carnes: The Birds Are Feeding Me

    Funny and charming, with plenty of subtext in these crazy times. I enjoyed a zoom presentation of this play by the CONNECTIVE THEATRE COMPANY - and even in that brave new platform, so much humor, warmth and theatricality comes through.

    Funny and charming, with plenty of subtext in these crazy times. I enjoyed a zoom presentation of this play by the CONNECTIVE THEATRE COMPANY - and even in that brave new platform, so much humor, warmth and theatricality comes through.

  • Rachael Carnes: ZERO PERCENT CHANCE OF VISIBILITY short-form musical by Arianna Rose and Marj O'Neill-Butler

    YES! Stop everything and enjoy this gem. Snappy dialogue, hilarious and revealing lyrics - this is a marvelous vehicle for mature women actors. I wish I was 60 years old and could sing, or act, so I could be in this musical!!

    YES! Stop everything and enjoy this gem. Snappy dialogue, hilarious and revealing lyrics - this is a marvelous vehicle for mature women actors. I wish I was 60 years old and could sing, or act, so I could be in this musical!!

  • Rachael Carnes: Kings of the World

    I love this play, and still think about the wonderful production of it I saw at Oregon Contemporary Theatre last year. "Jeff" and "Bud" say everything in their dialogue and in the lingering subtext underneath the funny. Danley's penchant for snappy language, with a strong, driving forward movement, is here in full splendor. I can say with authority that the stage direction, "They all boogie down" is the permission we need right now. Read, consider, produce this play.

    I love this play, and still think about the wonderful production of it I saw at Oregon Contemporary Theatre last year. "Jeff" and "Bud" say everything in their dialogue and in the lingering subtext underneath the funny. Danley's penchant for snappy language, with a strong, driving forward movement, is here in full splendor. I can say with authority that the stage direction, "They all boogie down" is the permission we need right now. Read, consider, produce this play.

  • Rachael Carnes: CLAIREVOYANT [10-Minute Play]

    Bwahaha! This is delightful. Christopher's rollicking exploration - the parallels between mystical enchantments both ancient and contemporary, no spoilers! - can't mask the hilarious dysfunctions between these two characters in this richly-detailed, yet breezy, accessible piece. Gimme laugh right now, and let them have a touchstone of questioning, let the dialogue and action transport, and take me back to myself, like this play does. Great work! And thanks, NPX, always a treat to discover a new writer to follow.

    Bwahaha! This is delightful. Christopher's rollicking exploration - the parallels between mystical enchantments both ancient and contemporary, no spoilers! - can't mask the hilarious dysfunctions between these two characters in this richly-detailed, yet breezy, accessible piece. Gimme laugh right now, and let them have a touchstone of questioning, let the dialogue and action transport, and take me back to myself, like this play does. Great work! And thanks, NPX, always a treat to discover a new writer to follow.

  • Rachael Carnes: My Heart is a Kaleidoscope (Waiting to be Turned) (1 minute play)

    This lovely ensemble piece would be a wonderful beginning for any troupe of actors - and particularly young performers. Though not written for Zoom or another video conference, as I read it over for the third time, my mind began to imagine the possibilities of adapting a piece like this for our new realities. Whether on a real stage, or a virtual one, Speckman's words ring true.

    This lovely ensemble piece would be a wonderful beginning for any troupe of actors - and particularly young performers. Though not written for Zoom or another video conference, as I read it over for the third time, my mind began to imagine the possibilities of adapting a piece like this for our new realities. Whether on a real stage, or a virtual one, Speckman's words ring true.

  • Rachael Carnes: The Terrible and the Sublime

    I love a play that rollicks along with ideas I can barely keep up with - Fast-moving discoveries and the unexpected on every page. This is WHY I read plays, and this one by Stolnack crackles. Not only is the dialogue full of terrific comic climbs, it settles into valleys of real and tender meaning. A lovely exploration of friendship, and a fantastic vehicle for two mature actors. Bravo!

    I love a play that rollicks along with ideas I can barely keep up with - Fast-moving discoveries and the unexpected on every page. This is WHY I read plays, and this one by Stolnack crackles. Not only is the dialogue full of terrific comic climbs, it settles into valleys of real and tender meaning. A lovely exploration of friendship, and a fantastic vehicle for two mature actors. Bravo!

  • Rachael Carnes: Good Vibrations

    When life sends you assh*les, write a play. Middletown Williams taps into his penchant for clear-eyed societal observation, cached in relatable characters and dialogue, exposing in just a few pages the way pettiness and hypocrisy can try to pull someone under, while love, and self-knowledge will always float us higher. This play buoys my spirits today. Thank you.

    When life sends you assh*les, write a play. Middletown Williams taps into his penchant for clear-eyed societal observation, cached in relatable characters and dialogue, exposing in just a few pages the way pettiness and hypocrisy can try to pull someone under, while love, and self-knowledge will always float us higher. This play buoys my spirits today. Thank you.

  • Rachael Carnes: Hope

    Just perfect. Read, read again. Read a third time. Thank you.

    Just perfect. Read, read again. Read a third time. Thank you.

  • A beautifully-crafted exploration of an increasingly relatable experience: Navigating life with the shadow of anxiety clinging closer each day. Haas tempers her protagonist's fears with a no-nonsense humanity. We care about 'Alice' and in the subtleties and sympathies within the piece, we see how we might overcome our obstacles, too. A play at once alive, engagingly theatrical, and internally resonant. It's the kind of poetry that soothes even from reading. Do yourself a favor, and read this play.

    A beautifully-crafted exploration of an increasingly relatable experience: Navigating life with the shadow of anxiety clinging closer each day. Haas tempers her protagonist's fears with a no-nonsense humanity. We care about 'Alice' and in the subtleties and sympathies within the piece, we see how we might overcome our obstacles, too. A play at once alive, engagingly theatrical, and internally resonant. It's the kind of poetry that soothes even from reading. Do yourself a favor, and read this play.

  • Rachael Carnes: Just One

    I read this with a giant smile on my face, laughing out loud throughout. Anyone who knows the NY art world (or maybe any art world?) will see so much that's familiar - but Rinkel's expansive vision here translates to the everyday frustration of jockeying in any group, just to know where you stand. Crisp language and a delightfully fast-moving structure make this play a winner. I would love to see it in production.

    I read this with a giant smile on my face, laughing out loud throughout. Anyone who knows the NY art world (or maybe any art world?) will see so much that's familiar - but Rinkel's expansive vision here translates to the everyday frustration of jockeying in any group, just to know where you stand. Crisp language and a delightfully fast-moving structure make this play a winner. I would love to see it in production.